Pocket cigarette maker



Oct. 31, 1933. R LlNTHlCUM 1,932,936

POCKET CIGARETTE MAKER Filed July 7, 1931 INVENTOR Rawlel D. Linrhicum ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 31, 1933 POCKET CEGAPJETTE I /IAKEB.

Rawiey D. Linthicum, Louisville, Ky, assignor to Brown Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Louisville, Ky.,' a corporation of Delaware Application July '7, 1931. Serial No. 549,139

12 Claims.

This invention relates to cigarette makers and more particularly to a small, compact, simple pocket cigarette maker.

Pocket cigarette makers have already been devised which, generally speaking, consist of two cooperating semi-cylindrical or trough-like members which are appropriately hinged or detachably secured together so as to be useful in the shaping of a cigarette. The primary object of the present invention is to generally improve such pocket cigarette makers or devices with a View to making the same simple and'compact in construction, and readily operated without special practice or skill for the rapid rolling of a well formed and well packed cigarette. 7

One of the difnculties with pocket cigarette makers as heretofore constructed relates to manipulation of the cigarette paper itself. Some cigarette making devices require that the paper be wrapped around the device after the same has been filled'with tobacco, but this, I find, is

not feasible or practical because of the strain placed upon the cigarette paper during the remainder of the operation. Other cigarette as an outside casing within which the cigarette paper is placed, after which the tobacco is poured on the paper. Such an arrangement, I

have found, is exceedingly difficult to manipulate because of the tendency of the paper to move around within the outside casing. Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to overcome this difficulty, which Ido by the provision of means to hold the papersecurely in place within and against the bottom of the outside casing. This holding means preferably takes the form of a thin tongue-like member of arcuate cross section, togetherwith additional means anchoring the same against the bottom of the casing with the cigarette paper held therebetween.

The top form or shaping element of the cigarette maker has often been hinged or simi-' larly connected to the remainder ofthe device. Such an arrangement I have found to be unsatisfactory in use, because when tobacco is poured into the cigarette maker it cannot be properly be trapped beneath the form and worked into the desired cigarette shape. Accordingly, I have improved the top form by making the same itmakers have at least one element which acts self in the shape of a thintongue-like member of arcuate cross section, one end of which is preferably provided with stop means acting as a handle, but which element as a whole is free and detached from the remainder of the cigarette making device, so that the top form may be manipulated freely in any desired manner to catch and trap and compress the tobacco be neath the same prior to folding over and sticking the edges of the cigarette paper to one another.

Other objects oi the present invention are to provide simple and effective means for securing the bottom tongue or paper holder to the outside casing; to so design both the bottom and top tongues that the same may readily be slipped from the finished cigarette with. out spoiling the same; to provide stop means for preventing escape of tobacco at the ends of the cigarettes, particularly during removal of the upper form or tongue member; andthe provision of means which may, if desired, be used to tamp the tobacco within'the end of the cigarette as ter the tongue members have been removed therefrom.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the cigarette maker elements and their relation one to the other as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The spe iiication is accompanied by drawing-in which: i V

Fig. '1 is a perspective View showing the elements ofthecigarette' maker in separated relafion; I J I 1 Fig. 2 is a partially sectioned elevation through the cigarette maker after a ci arette paper has been placed therein;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same;

' Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the same taken in the plane of the line 4-4 in Fig.2;p i

Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing the cigarette maker at a later stage in the formation of a cigarette; v

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken plane of the line 65 in Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged section taken in elevation through the end of the cigar tte .maker shown in Fig. '5; 7

Fig.8, is a similar section taken through .a slightly modified form of cigarette. having an end stop on the paper holder; and f V Fig. '9 is a perspective view of the lower in the casing 2, in the manner shown in Figs. 2, 3,

"used alone, as well as both together as it is tongue or paper holder of the modification of Fig. 8.

Refering to the drawing, and particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, the cigarette maker of my invention comprises generally three elements, namely, a bottom form or outside casing A, a bottom tongue or paper holder B, and a top form or tongue C. The bottom form or casing A comprises a generally tubular member 2, one side of which is open, terminating in the edges 4. The said casing may be semi-cylindrical, but I prefer to make the same larger than or more enclosed than a semi-cylinder, so that the open edges 4 come higher than at the extremities of a diameter, as is all clearly evident from an inspection of transverse sections such as Figs. 4 and 6. One end of casing A is provided with an end stop 6 and preferably also with a handle 8. The end stop closes one end of the casing so as to prevent the escape of tobacco therefrom, and the handle may assume any desired shape and is intended merely to facilitate holding and manipulating the device during the formation of a cigarette. In the specific construction here shown, the end stop and handle are formed by continuing the tube 2 and driving within the same a solid cylindrical plug of material. The lower face of the said plug is preferably cut away, as is most clearly shown at 10 in Fig. 2, thereby forming a slot or recess the object of which is to receive and hold the open end of the bottom tongue B, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

The bottom tongue or paper holder B consists of a thin preferably metallic element 12 of arcuate cross section, as is most clearly brought out in the transverse sections of Figs. 4 and 6. The arcuate shape is made such that the lower or outer surface of the same is adapted to rest smoothly against and mate accurately with the inner surface of the casing 2. The side edges 14 of the paper holder are preferably skived or thinned down to a feathered edge. The open end 16 of the paper holder is also thinned down and preferably is reduced in width or pointed, as is clearly evident from an inspection of Figs. 1, 3, and 9. Such a construction at the end 16 facilitates entry of the same into slot or recess 10 of the casing, and further facilitates withdrawal of the member B from the finished cigarette. The opposite end of the member B is provided with means providing a recess 18 for receiving the open end of casing A in a manner which is self-evident from an inspection of Figs. 2, 5, '7, and 8. This recess is most simply formed by bending the metal downwardly and reversely to form the desired recess, and this at the same time may be further bent to provide a bead or tab 20 which may be moved outwardly when it is desired to withdraw the tongue from the casing. It will be appreciated that the paper holder B is thus provided with holding means at each end for keeping the same against the bottom of the casing 2, and that by first positioning a cigarette paper 22 in the and 4, and thereafter inserting the paper holder B, the paper will be locked or held securely in desired position. It should be understood that the holding means at either end maybe here preferred to do. I

The top form or tongue C consists of a strip of metal 24 which is arcuate in cross section and which has thinned or skived edges, much as in the case of the paper holder B, except that the end 26 is not pointed and is short enough to come within the end stop 6 of casing A. The opposite end 28 is provided with means acting as an end stop and as a handle for manipulation of the member. The radius of curvature of member C is smaller than that of member A and may be designed so that the outer surface thereof completes the curvature of the inner surface of casing A. At the same time the over-all width of member C is at least slightly less than the width of the opening between the top edges 4., 4 of member A. This construction is evident from an inspection of Fig. 6.

In operation it will be understood that after the cigarette paper 22 has been positioned within casing A and locked therein by the paper holder B, tobacco is poured within the spreadopen edges of the cigarette paper, after which the relatively loose tobacco is tamped or pressed downwardly by means of the top form or tongue C. This may be worked from side to side and inwardly so as to catch and force all of the threads of the tobacco within the desired space and without waste of the same. The entire device at this time may be held between the thumbs and fingers of both hands, much as when rolling a cigarette, unaided by mechanical means. One edge of the cigarette paper is then folded over the top form C, and the other edge, which is preferably the cemented edge 23 of the paper when same has a cemented edge, is then moistened and folded downwardly and thereby cemented to complete the formation of the cigarette. The apparatus at this stage of the operation is illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and '7.

g It now remains only to remove the lower and upper tongue elements B and C from the cigarette and to then slide the cigarette from the casing A. This is readily accomplished in any desired manner, but is preferably done by first sliding the lower tongue element B outwardly, the tobacco and cigarette being held in position by the end stop 28 on the upper tongue member C. The upper tongue member is then removed from the cigarette, and if desired the cigarette may be permitted to travel with the tongue member until it projects slightly beyond the open end of easing A, in order to facilitate removal of the cigarette from the casing after the element C has been removed from the cigarette. It will be understood that removal of the second tongue is accomplished without difficulty because of the slight freedom provided after the removal of the first tongue. its initial position until both tongues B and C have been removed, it is nevertheless readily slid out of the casing by pressing upon and sliding outwardly the top portion of the cigarette.

that it is provided with a short cylindrical plug 30 which acts as an end stop for retaining the cigarette and tobacco within the casing. principaladvantage of this form of the invention resides in the fact that the tobacco is held be-' tween two end stops while it is being poured over' the cigarette paper. The remainder of the operation of forming the cigarette is similar to If the cigarette is retained in In these figures it will be noticed that The 2- that already, described, except that when removing the tongue elements 3 and C it is in this case, preferabletofirst remove the. upper tongue element C, the tobacco and cigarette meanwhile being retained within casing A by the end stop B. 1 End stop B is next removed, the cigarette being retained within the casing A by pressing whileremoving the paperholder B, so that after the paper holder has been removed the end of the cigarette mayreadily be seized and withdrawn from casing A. 7

In usingeither, form'of theinvention, after both tongue members B and C have been removed from the cigarette the tongue member C may be reversed and the end 28 thereof used to pack tobacco into the end of-the cigarette should this appear desirable or necessary.

The mode of constructing and using the cigarette maker of my invention, and the many advantages of the. same will, it is thought, be apparent from the foregoing description thereof. The casing A is an outside casing and therefore definitely establishes the shape of the finished cigarette andprotectively houses the same during its formation. The paper holder anchorsor locks the cigarette, paper in place,iso that the device may be held and manipulated as desired when pouring tobacco over the same. The fact that the ends of thepaper cannot move to an uneven position but instead are held in their initial correct position, results in; uniformly correctly shaped cigarettes,- :and eliminates much of the nuisance and discouragement of the smoker attempting to roll his own. Thetobacco is held between end stops and this prevents waste of tobacco and helps insure the production of a suff ciently tightly packed cigarette. The top form may, "if preferred, be omitted and the tobacco simply pressed downwardly with the fingers and the paper cemented in place. However, for the production of; a cigarette of perfect shape, it is preferred that the top form be used.

This element of the cigarette maker is complete ly detached from the remaining apparatus and therefore may be freely manipulated as desired;

and lifted clear out and replaced successive times until all of the excess tobacco has been worked down under the same and into the casing. With this arrangement when the paper is finally foldedover and stuck in place, the outer surface 'is clear and clean of loose particles of tobacco,

so that a smooth and round cigarette is obtained. Meanwhile waste of tobacco is avoided. The lower and upper tongue members are thin, smooth, and tapered in such a manner that they are readily slid out of the finished cigarette. At

'the same time the arrangement of end stops is such that the tobacco and cigarette are held in place during the removal of these members. Even after the same have beenremoved, the

end of the top form may be reversed and used to pack tobacco into the end of the finished cigarette. The cigarette maker itself is, of course, exceedingly simple in construction, light in weight, and not only easy to manipulate but also .is readily assembled and. carried in the pocket or tobacco pouch of the smoker.

t will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in preferred forms, many changes and modifications may be made in the structures disclosed without departing froinuthe' spirit of the invention, definedlin the following claims. i 1

Ijclaim: "1

1..A. pocket cigarette maker comprising a tubular casing. having an open side, means to hold a cigarette paper securely in place therein prior to. filling the same with tobacco; and means to:

compress and hold theifilled tobacco inplace:

prior to and during the operation ofv folding over and sticking theedges of'the-paper, said paper holding and tobacco compressing means-being so shaped as tobe readily retractable from the cigarette after thecig'arette has beenformed.

-2. A pocketcigarette maker having a bottom form consisting, of an open sided tubular member,,means closing one end of the same, atongue consisting of a thin element of arcuate cross section, means for holding the same against the bottom of the bottom form, a top form consisting of a thin member of arcuate cross section,

and'means acting as an endstop for the open end of the bottom form. l

. 3. A pocket cigarette maker having a casing, and a paper holder, said casing comprising an open sided tubular membersone end of which is open and the other, end of whichis closed and provided with a bottom slot, the paper holder comprising a thin element of arcuate. cross sec-' tion one end of which isdimensioned to enter the aforesaid slot, and the other end of which is provided with means defining a recessfor receiving the open end of the casing, whereby the paper holder is held against thecasing in order to secure a; cigarette paper in place.

4. A pocket cigarette maker having a casing, and a bottom tongue, said casing comprisingan open sided tubular member one end of which is open and the other end ofwhich is closed and providedwith a handle and with-a .bottom slot, the bottom tongue comprising athin element of arcuate cross section dimensioned to fit upon and mate with the casing, oneendof'said bottom. tongue being dimensioned to enter and be supported by theaforesaid slot, the other end of said bottom tongue being provided with a downwardly and reversely bent flange or hook-like member defining a recess for the open endof the casing, and an upwardly extending-:cylindri cal plug or end stop for the open endjof the casing. u-

5. A pocket cigarette maker having a bottom form, a paper holder; and atop form, said bot-' tom form comprising an open sided tubular member one end of which is open and the other end of which is closed and provided with a bottom slot, the paper holder comprising a thin element of arcuate cross section dimensioned to fit upon the bottom of the casing, one end of said paper holder being dimensioned to enter the aforesaid slot, the other end of said paper holder being provided with means defining a recess for receiving the open end of the casing, and the top form comprising a thin member of arcuate cross section dimensioned to'fit within the open side of the casing, one end of said top form being open and the other end of said top form being provided with a handle.

6. A pocket cigarette maker having a casing, a paper holder, and a tongue, said casing comprising an open sided tubular member one end of which is open and the other end of which is closed and provided with a bottom slot, the paper holder comprising a thin element of arcuate cross section dimensioned to fit upon the bottom of the casing, one end of said paper holder being dimensioned to enter the aforesaid slot, the other end of said paper holder being provided with means defining a recess for receiving the open end of the casing, and anupwardly extending cylindrical plug or end stop for the open end of the casing, and the tongue comprising a thin member of arcuate cross section dimensioned to fit within the open side of the casing, one end of said tongue being open and the other-end 01' said tongue being provided with a handle. I

7. A pocket cigarette maker having a casing, a bottom tongue, and a top tongue, said casing comprising an open sided tubular member one end of which is open and the other end of which is closed andprovided with a handle and with an internal bottom slot, the bottom tongue comprising a thin element of arcuate cross section dimensioned to fit upon and mate with the bottom of the casing, one end of said bottom tongue being dimensioned to enter and be supported by the aforesaid slot, the other end of said bottom tongue being provided with a downwardly and reversely bent fiange or hook-like member defining a. recess for the open end of the casing, and the top tongue comprising a thin member of arcuate cross section dimensioned to complete the open side of the casing at a relatively reduced diameter, one end of said top tongue being open and smoothly tapered and the other end i of said top tongue being provided with a ,gen-

erally cylindrical plug or stop which acts as a handle and as an end stop for the open end of the casing.

8. A pocket cigarette maker having a bottom jform, a paper holder, and a top form, said bottom form or casing comprising an open sided tubular member one end of which is open and theother end of which is closed and provided with a handle and with an internal bottom slot,

jthe paper holder comprising a thinelement of Zsaid paper holder being provided with a downwardly and reversely bent flange or hook-like member defining a recess for the open end of the bottom form, and an upwardly extending cylindrical plug or end stop for the open end of 'I the bottom form, and the top form comprising a thin member of: arcuate cross section dimensioned to complete the open side of the bottom format a relatively'reduced diameter, one end of said top form being open and smoothly tapered and the other end of said top form being provided with a generally cylindrical portion constituting a handle for the member.

9. A pocket cigarette maker comprising an outside casing in the form of an open sided tubular member, means closing one end of the same, a paper holder in the form of a thin element of arcuate cross section, means for holding the paper holder against the bottom of the casing, and means acting as an end stop for the open end of the casing.

10. A pocket cigarette maker comprising a tubular casing having an open side, means to hold a cigarette paper securely in place therein prior to filling the same with tobacco, and means to compress and hold the filled tobacco in place prior to and during the operation of folding over and sticking the edges of the paper, said paper holding and tobacco compressing means being so shaped as to be readily retractable from the cigarette after the cigarette has been formed.

11. A pocket cigarette maker comprising a one-piece outside casing for receiving and housing a cigarette paper, said casing comprising a more than semi-cylindrical open-sided tubular member one end of which is open and the other end of which is closed, a paper holder completely detached from said outside casing and comprising a thin member of arcuate' cross-section dimensioned smaller than the open side of the easing in order to pass freely therethrough, and means for detachably holding the same against the bottom of the casing in order to fixedly lock a cigarette paper therein during the making of a cigarette.

12. A pocket cigarette maker comprising a one-piece outside casing for receiving and housing a cigarette paper, said' casing comprising a more than semi-cylindrical open-sided tubular member one end of which is open and the other end of which is closed, a paper holder and a tongue each completely detached from said outside casing and comprising a thin member of arcuate cross-section dimensioned smaller than the open side of the casing in order to pass freely therethrough, said paper holder being arranged to lie on the bottom of the casing in order to lock a cigarette paper therein, and said tongue being adapted to compress the tobacco within the cigarette paper and easing before closing the cigarette paper; I

RAWLEY D. LINTHICUM; 

